


She Can Love You Back

by shes_cured



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-16 13:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11829912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shes_cured/pseuds/shes_cured
Summary: “National City needs me. And I’m stronger than you think.”“I don’t doubt your strength. But so do I, Kara. I need you too."A three-shot fic where Lena finds out about Supergirl and doesn't react well. Luckily, Maggie will personally take getting the couple to see they're in love with each other into her own hands.





	1. Chapter 1

Lena waited. Usually she didn't mind if Kara was a few minutes late, after all, she was kind of lackadaisical, but today it was different. Today, she'd just had a very interesting conversation with her mother who seemed to know more about her best friend than Lena herself did, which set off every red flag that she had set up in her mind.

Granted, her mother usually had nothing truthful to offer when she spoke, but Lena believed her fully this time. For once her words hadn't created a puzzle, they'd solved one. Scattered pieces on the table came together to form a terrifying picture. She had finally found a friend, something she had always wanted, only to find out she was putting herself at the center of almost every crime in National City day in and day out.

“Hey, Lena,” Kara smiled apologetically as she walked through the doors of the coffee shop. “Sorry, I was held up at work. Ever since Cat's been back it's been crazy. But are you okay? You seemed a little off on the phone.”

“Yeah, I was pretty upset,” Lena confirmed bluntly, ready to face this head on without beating around the bush. “My mother dropped by to see me.”

“Are you okay?” Kara’s blue eyes were suddenly filled with nothing but concern, eyebrows furrowing, her entire attention focused on Lena with pure interest at the six-word statement.

Lena tried not to get distracted by the memories she had with those eyes. One look reminded her how cared for she'd became since meeting Kara Danvers. Kara was the only real friend she had in her life, the only person she owed anything to. Hell, she was the only real friend she'd _ever_ had in her life. Period. She had always heard that all press was good press. She found the statement bullshit. She still did most days, but Kara was different. She was the best form of press there was for Lena, both in her journalism skills and as a friend.

“I'm fine,” she finally nodded, pulling herself out of her daze. She crossed her arms, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow as a dare for Kara to lie to her. “She said you might have something to tell me, though.”

“What?” Kara tried to play off an amused reaction, but she laughed a little too hard. She could try all she wanted to not allow the crinkle to take over, but Lena saw it loud and clear. “What would I have to tell you? You know more about me than anyone - except maybe my sister.”

“Let me rephrase,” the dark haired girl leaned back, picking up her styrofoam coffee cup with the tips of her fingers and managing to look graceful as ever while doing it. “She warned me about something regarding you and I thought I'd have the decency to tell you about it. Because I _tell you_ things.”

Kara looked down, taking a deep breath at those words. “So, you know.”

Pursing her red lips, Lena Luther nodded, her green eyes looking fiercer than ever. “Yeah, Kara. I know.”

“Are you mad?”

“Infuriated,” she confirmed matter-of-factly, keeping her voice steady and without anger. 

Lena watched Kara wince at that, her expression suddenly pleading with her. “I was going to tell you.”

If roles were reversed, she wouldn't tell Kara a secret of this degree either, at least not this soon. Kara and her were best friends, that was warm hearted and great, but they didn't stay up late talking about secrets. This never came up. Besides, if she had to guess, there was no greater secret Kara had. Telling someone you’re an alien isn’t exactly easy to do. Of course she guarded that information carefully. She wasn't mad at her for not sharing something that massive so soon. 

“I know, I'm positive you would've,” Lena calmly agreed, almost wanting to laugh at the shock on her best friend’s face upon hearing the statement. Her dumb, idiotic best friend’s face.

“But you said you're mad,” she spoke slowly, trying to find the disconnect. 

Lena leaned in to the table, needing to make herself crystal clear for this. “You are going to get yourself killed if you keep doing this, Kara.”

“No, I'm Supergirl,” the blonde haired girl countered with the bulletproof argument. 

“I'm fully aware of that now,” she remarked, being extra careful not to sound bitter, because she wasn't _bitter_. She was outraged at Kara’s stupidity and fearlessness. “You are being reckless,” she continued with petrified anger. “You're putting yourself in danger. You're going to get yourself into a situation that you can’t get out of and I can’t just lose you. I can’t-”

Kara was quick not to let her finish that thought, bringing up a card that Lena knew she would pull out sometime during the conversation. “Would now be a good time to remind you that I've saved your life? Multiple times?”

“I know,” Lena jumped to agree, “I get that you're Supergirl, okay? But you're not Supergirl to me. You’re Kara, my best friend. And - _what_? Why are you smiling like that?”

“You’re worried,” Kara mused. “I’ve never seen you worry about anyone before.”

Lena opened her mouth and her words sounded fierce and pissed off, but her face didn’t match the anger they portrayed. Her face never matched, always remaining calm and collected. “My only friend is on a suicide mission. Of course I’m a little worried, please, do excuse me.”

“I’ll be fine-“

“But you don’t know that!” Lena burst out. She looked around the cafe as she realized how loud her voice was, suddenly self-conscious. It wasn’t like her to lose control. She sat back in her seat again, returning to the low murmur that was her norm.  “You can’t do this. It's too risky.”

Blonde curls fell past Kara’s shoulders as she let out a small sigh at the concern, “National City needs me. And I’m stronger than you think.”

“I don’t doubt your strength. But so do I, Kara. I need you too,” she brought up, trying to sound emotionless and mercilessly failing. 

Kara was now saying her words very slowly, as if they were being carefully articulated. “I can’t just not be Supergirl... You must know that.”

“I didn’t think you’d change your mind,” Lena nodded. Then, she abruptly stood up, shaking her head and turning away. “But I can’t stand by and continue to get close to you only to watch you die either. I need to protect myself.”

“Wait, what?" Kara yelled at her retreating figure. "Lena!"

But she ignored it. While she wanted to be Kara’s friend so badly, that didn’t mean she was willing to stick around and end up losing someone else she loved. Kara being Supergirl was selfless, brave and really fucking great for Kara. But for Lena? It was nothing but heartbreak waiting to happen. Kara was the strongest person she knew - not even just due to her alien powers - but no one was invincible. Not even someone with the alter ego of Supergirl. 

She moved out of the restaurant, into a waiting car and drove away. She glanced out the rear view window once to see Kara watching the car drive away with a defeated expression. She felt bad for her because she knew what that feeling was like. Lena had been feeling pretty damn defeated too lately.

* * *

“Alright, Mopey,” Alex burst into the apartment after not seeing Kara for three days. “I brushed it off before because I thought it was a stupid fight, but you’re clearly more upset than you first led on.”

“What?” Kara laughed a little, shaking her head and beginning another terrible attempt at a lie that she already knew her sister would see through. “No, I’m not. I’m not upset at all, I’m just…” she sighed, giving up the charade and sinking back into the cushions of the sofa with more force than any human would be able to muster out. “I’m really, really upset. I mean, Lena is mad at me. _Lena_. My best friend, Lena, Lena.”

“Just to clear things up, it’s Lena who’s mad at you?” Alex smirked, pulling her sister’s chain before going to sit beside with a serious expression. “Kara, she’s just worried about you.”

An overly loud groan of frustration was heard through the room at that. “But I’m fine, Alex.”

“I know that,” her sister quickly defended. “You’re Supergirl, but this is new to Lena. She doesn’t get that yet.”

“What’s not to get? She knows I’m bulletproof,” Kara continued, shaking her head with discouragement. “I don’t get why she’s so worried. She’s acting like I’m going out as Kara, but I’m a superhero, Alex. It’s been three days and she’s still mad.”

Alex sighed, looking at her sister for a few seconds with an analytical expression. She began speaking softly. “It’s easy for us to differentiate between you and Supergirl, but this is new to Lena," she made a fair argument. "I was scared at first too, Kara. I know you remember all our fights about it. Hell, we still have some fights about it.”

“But you’re my sister. You care about me more than anyone, so you have the authority to get mad.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that Lena might care about you too?” Alex put the idea in Kara’s head. “Obviously, not as much as me, but it’s clear that she truly values you, Kara. And I think you value you her just as much and that’s why you’re so upset over this.”

“She’s just another friend of mine,” Kara shrugged it off nonchalantly. “She’s not even part of our group.”

“Why is that?” Alex asked casually.

The younger, yet technically much older, Danvers sister looked at the short brown haired girl pointedly. “Our world is dangerous if you don’t have powers, Alex. You know that.”

“Exactly. And she’s trying to protect you in that exact same way.”

Kara pondered that thought before realizing her sister was right, as usual. “Maybe she is.”

“Your whole life, you always wanted someone to look out for you, for Kara and not just for Supergirl. All you’ve wanted was for someone to see you as more than Supergirl after they knew your secret,” Alex reminded her of countless conversations. “This is what you’ve asked for since leaving Krypton. Now you have to try to see it from her side.”

“You’re defending her,” Kara gawked. “I’m your _sister_ , Alex. You should be taking my side.”

“I worry too,” she shrugged simply. “I might be used to it because I’ve been at this a lot longer, but this is new to Lena. You have to give her time to adjust to the fact that you choose to live on the brink of death all the time. Trust me, Klutzy Kara Danvers is something to worry about. Poised Supergirl is not.”

“I just wish she saw it from my point of view,” Kara stated dejectedly. “I can’t just not be Supergirl. I mean, giving that up for a friend would be crazy... Right?”

Alex ignored the question, but addressed the other part of the message. “You can’t put Kara second all the time either."

Kara was taken aback at the statement and couldn’t hide the shock on her face. “Where did that come from? I never put Kara second.”

“You sent your boyfriend into space because you activated a device that would kill him if he stayed on Earth,” Alex sharply reminded her.

“That was a one-time thing,” she grumbled immediately at the memory. “And that was another time I saved Lena’s life, by the way.”

Alex laughed, placing a hand on Kara’s leg and giving a smile filled with reassurance. “You don't need to defend yourself to me. I just want to see you happy.”

That made a grin from Kara appear as well.

“Lena will come around," Alex continued. "It's an adjustment - trust me."

"And if she doesn't?" Kara asked hesitantly, not liking the idea of living a life without Lena in it. "What if she really does decide she doesn't want to be around Supergirl?"

"I think she cares about you a little too much to decide that."

Kara just hoped she was right.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Maggie Sawyer, the detective and matchmaker.

At the sight of a dark haired girl brought into her office Lena sat up straighter and taller, immediately recognizing her. Good ole Maggie Sawyer. She had to admit that she was a little surprised that she was the one who came to talk to her.

“A cop is here to see you, Ms. Luthor… and she's quite _persistent_ ,” her receptionist shot Maggie a look. 

The detective just looked at her unimpressed, watching her retreat out the door before turning her attention back to Lena. 

“I'm Kara's sister's–”

“I know who you are,” Lena smiled politely, motioning for her to sit down in the same chair that Kara had sat in so many times before. “Although, I must say, I'm not sure why you're here visiting me in my office. I presume it's something about how I should talk to Kara?”

“You cut to the chase, I respect that,” Maggie acknowledged. 

However, she wasn't intimidated by Lena's stare down. That's what threw Lena off. She was a Luthor and could make anyone nervous if she tried hard enough, but as she tried to scare Maggie back out of her office in order not to talk about Kara, the detective just stared back, cool as a cucumber. 

“How'd you get on this duty?” Lena inquired. “I expected Danvers Sr., but seeing her fiancee – who arrested me awhile back, may I remind you – in my office is a curve ball.”

Maggie laughed at that, stretching out her arms along the back of the chair and crossing her legs as she leaned back. “I'm full of surprises. And yeah, sorry about that. Although, that does add evidence and ammunition as to why I'm here.”

Lena perked up curiously at that, raising an eyebrow, the look she perfected over the years. “Evidence and ammunition for what? Am I framed for another crime?”

“You're an extremely defensive person, you should work on that,” Maggie mentioned. “But no. You're right, I'm here to talk to you about Danvers. Kara Danvers, not Alex.”

“You mean you're not here for a heart-to-heart with me about your love life?” Lena smirked. 

Maggie continued to smile smugly. “No, I'm here for a heart-to-heart about yours.”

The girl across the desk gawked, her jaw dropping a little. It took a lot to stun her, but Maggie certainly managed to. What love life? Her love life was beyond non-existent at this point. She'd given up, no one would ever be able to love someone like her. Jack had been the closest thing she'd had to romance and he was gone.

“I don't _have_ a love life,” Lena sputtered out. “I don't have anything that's even close to one.”

“I disagree.”

The girl with green eyes crossed her arms, going back to that perfected look. “Care to share, Detective?”

“I'll happily share, but you're gonna deny everything. So, just hear me out.”

Her voice was flat, but she nodded. “I'm listening. Although I _do_ have a company to run, so let's speed this up.”

“I wouldn't peg you and Kara as friends,” she mused. “You're not like her at all.”

“Good to know your unwarranted opinion.”

Maggie let out a small laugh again, which made Lena self conscious. She wasn't trying to be funny, she was trying to be rude enough to force her to leave. 

“Alright, let’s start this conversation. It's full of more unwarranted opinions,” Maggie smirked as Lena rolled her eyes. “I'm sensing you want me to cut to the chase?”

“It would be appreciated, yes.”

“I think you're in love with Kara,” she spoke up bluntly. 

If Lena thought she couldn't be any more taken aback she was very wrong. “ _Excuse me_?”

“I expected that reaction,” Maggie nodded, her expression still more serious than ever. 

“Just because you're gay doesn't mean I am.”

It was as if Maggie didn't hear her. She kept talking as if they were gushing about Kara together rather than Maggie speculating. “I don't blame you. Kara's a lovely girl, really. She's bold, cunning – her and Alex are a little too annoyingly close sometimes, but you'll adjust.”

“You're out of your mind.”

“I think she's in love with you too,” Maggie stated matter-of-fact.

That perked Lena up real quick. She tried to sound casual, but even she knew she miserably failed. She just didn't know _why_ she seemed so excited to hear more on that idea. “Go on.”

Once again, Maggie just chuckled at the shift from being willful to willing. “Well, you're the one who brought up your arrest.”

“Fond memories,” she spat bitterly. 

The detective let out a grin. “We’ll be laughing about it someday over a double date, you just need to warm up to me.”

“Whatever,” she scoffed. “Just continue, I have work to do.”

“As you wish,” she obliged. “When I arrested you, that was viewed as a personal attack in Kara’s eyes. It wasn't a matter of work and me doing my job, it was a matter of you. I was arresting _you_ and she was pissed about it until I apologized – which I shouldn't have because I did nothing wrong, but that's beside the point.” Maggie kept staring at her, still leaning back in her chair looking relaxed as ever. “While you were in jail and we thought you broke out, she was trying to convince everyone she could you were innocent when there was a _video_ of you committing the crime. No one believe her and not once did she give up on you. She was so sure that something had to be off with the video or someone was shifting into you, she never even considering listening to anyone who said you were guilty and switched sides.”

Lena smiled at the recollection. No one believed in her like Kara did. Her whole life she was seen as a Luthor. To Kara she was just Lena. She viewed her as a good person from the beginning and that was something that had never happened before. 

“Kara Danvers just thinks the world is a little too good,” she brushed the memory away as if it meant nothing, not willing to admit out loud that it meant the world and more to her. 

“Kara was pissed at Mon-El for weeks for doing various stupid things – but a couple times he wasn't in the wrong,” Maggie kept arguing her point. “You were on video, committing a crime - something that had the potential to wind up with her dead, nonetheless, and she was so confident and passionate that you did nothing wrong. She backed you despite everyone else saying there was no way you weren't guilty. And she found a way to prove you innocent.”

Lena looked down, unsure of what to say to that. Kara was her best friend, but was she in love with Kara? She didn't think so. But she had been positive she wasn't until this visit. 

“Kara told me you didn't push the subject of being gay with her sister when she told you she was straight,” Lena recalled, deciding to change the subject. “What's your deal with me?”

“She hinted gay. You scream it.”

Her jaw once again dropped at the bold statement. “I'm not in love with her.”

“Okay,” Maggie shrugged simply before adopting a sarcastic tone. “I cut people out of my life due to immensely worrying about them all the time too. It's totally normal.”

"I worry because she's my best friend," Lena clarified. "She's the only person I care about and she's putting herself in danger. I can't watch her die or lose her or anything else of the sort. Besides, I'm not gay."

"Funny," the older lesbian mused. "If that were true I figured it'd be your first excuse. Not your last."

Knowing that was a solid point, Lena just formed her lips into a thin line. “You're testing my patience.”

“You love her a lot, okay? Maybe it's time you accept that someone can love you back despite your last name,” Maggie finally stood up from the chair, walking to the door. She couldn't leave before making the classic dramatic exit statement though. “Take it from me, I know what a Danvers looks like when she's in love with someone. That girl? She can love you back. And I think she does.”

When the room was once again containing only Lena she let out a breath. She wasn't prepared for that conversation and she wasn't prepared to be gay and she wasn't prepared to start to wonder if she was in love with her best friend. 

But suddenly, for the second time in a week, it was as if a puzzle was being solved for her. 

She was in love with a girl.

With Kara.

So, technically with Supergirl. 

Who might not even be gay. 

_Fuck._

* * *

Kara heard Maggie outside her door before she heard the knock. Using her x-ray vision, she frowned. Alex wasn't home and considering it seemed like Maggie and Alex knew each other's locations at all times it felt weird to see her behind the door all by herself. 

She got up, opening the entryway to her apartment with confusion. 

“Hey. What's up?”

“Hey, Maggie,” she stammered out. “Uh, Alex is at the DEO tonight.”

“I know,” she nodded. “I need to talk to you. I brought potstickers, they seem to be a theme in your life.”

Kara laughed, grabbing the take out from the girl in her doorway and allowing her in. She would never turn down food. She grabbed plates before leading them both to the couch. 

“Do you ever use your table?” Maggie finally asked. She'd been dating Alex for months yet every time she came they ate in front of the TV. 

“No, that's just because Eliza made me buy it.”

“Right,” she muttered. “Well, I have more important issues to talk about with you.”

Kara was surprised by that. “You do? With me?” 

“I do,” Maggie confirmed firmly. “You and Lena. It's an issue that I have to talk to you about.”

Kara braced herself for that conversation. She'd had plenty of conversations with Maggie, but when it was just the two of them they often ended in fights. Fighting or not fighting, she still cared about Lena and was already preparing to defend her.

“What about Lena?”

“You need to resolve your spat," she announced the purpose of this seemingly random visit as she began to eat her food. "Your sister coddles you, so I'm here to help with that."

The other girl furrowed her eyebrows at that. “Alex has never coddled me.”

“She coddles you emotionally,” Maggie held the claim firm, not willing to budge on that. “That's why you have me.”

“We all know you're honest,” Kara smirked, fully knowing by now that her sister’s fiancee didn't exactly hold back. “What did I do wrong now?”

Maggie let out a shrug, wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “Nothing that I know of.”

“Oh,” Kara stuttered, a little surprised at that. “I figured you talked to Lena or something and she said I did something and you were here to knock sense into me.”

“I would never talk to Lena,” Maggie assured her, smirking a little at the comment. “She's not my biggest fan after I cuffed her. Literally, not slang-wise.”

The blonde snorted at that. “Thanks for clarifying.”

“I figured I'd leave slang version of cuffing Lena for you to handle.”

Kara's eyes immediately widened. Apparently she had some things in common with Lena because their expressions and words were identical. “ _Excuse me_?”

“I think you like her as more than a friend,” Maggie began an identical conversation to the one she'd had earlier, the one that Kara had no way of knowing about. “And I think she _really_ likes you back.”

“This is a little over stepping the boundaries we've established with each other, don't you think?”

Maggie stared back. “No.”

Kara rolled her eyes. It was stupid of her to even think Maggie would back down that easily. 

“Confidence in my gaydar has improved since calling out your sister,” she continued to hum her heavy words quite easily. “I'm fairly confident the two of you are in love.”

“Maggie, I'm very straight,” Kara smiled awkwardly at the assertion the girl was trying to make. “I loved Mon-El.”

“I know, I don't think _you're_ gay, I think Lena is.”

Kara let out a sigh of relief at that. At least she hadn't gone completely crazy. 

“You, on the other hand, are definitely bisexual. Maybe pansexual? It can be hard to read you at times.”

Or maybe she had gone crazy. 

“Maggie, I don't know what drugs you're on or how much scotch you've been drinking–”

“I'm clean and sober, thanks for inquiring,” Maggie smiled sweetly. “Look, you don't have to tell me how you feel, I already know, so I'll save you the struggle of expressing yourself, but you should tell Lena. And this hopefully helps you better understand why Lena is taking this so hard. She really loves you.”

The idea of Lena loving her made her smile, but she dismissed it immediately. 

“But–”

“Do you remember how passionate you were that Lena was innocent?” Maggie brought up suddenly. 

Kara just winced, remembering that vividly. She didn't mean for that to come off as being in love, but she knew it certainly made her look quite invested in Lena Luthor. She regained composure quite quickly though. 

“You mean after you arrested her?” Kara crossed her arms, nodding with plenty of attitude. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good times,” Maggie grinned. “It's the job, Kara. I had orders.”

“You were heartless. You told me to stay out of it with no empathy whatsoever–”

“Because you were going to be act like an overbearing girlfriend to her and try to have all the authority,” she stated blankly. “I had to do my job. You were going to get in the way of that.”

Kara rolled her eyes, which made Maggie quickly redirect them both. 

“We aren't here to discuss that. We're here to discuss your love life.”

“Or – and hear me out here – we could not.”

“I know the Mon-El thing was hard on you, Kara. I do, I can't even imagine–”

“Okay,” Kara nodded somberly. “Let’s not mention him.”

Maggie sighed, her eyes finally softening a bit. “I think Lena could love you. Like, really, really love you, in a way that maybe even he couldn't.”

She was quick to shake her head, not willing to accept that. “That's not possible.”

This time, Maggie didn't fight with her. “Well, I think she loves you. And I know you love her back already. So, what's the issue?”

“I'm honestly straight,” Kara shrugged. “Besides, Alex is gay. We can't both be into girls.”

Maggie scoffed at that, giving Kara a challenging look. “Do you know how many queer people have queer siblings? Clearly not, because that's an awful argument.”

“Sorry, continue, Gay Guru,” she muttered wryly.

Instead of frowning at the name as Kara had anticipated, Maggie lit up. “Now _that's_ catchy.” 

Kara laughed a little at her antics. She was quickly seeing how she kept Alex on her toes. 

“Just because Alex is gay doesn't mean you can't be into girls too,” she pressed.

Kara nodded along to hopefully move this conversation to an end, but Maggie must have seen through that, because she reached out a hand, touching her arm gently. 

“You love everyone around you with everything you’ve got - but that’s _especially_ true with Lena Luthor,” she concluded the conversation. “Maybe it's time you accept that someone can love you back, Kara. As in really, truly, fully love you. Without the hassle of being from opposing planets or having this evil family that hates you”

“I mean, her family isn't exactly the definition of being a fan of mine-“

“But she told you,” Maggie interrupted Kara before she could spew out the obvious argument. “From day one, she’s been honest with you. She let you know what you were walking into when it came to her evil family. I love you to death. I know we butt heads a lot, but you know I care about you, right?"

Kara stayed silent, but nodded her head.

Maggie took that as her cue to continue. "That’s why I’m telling you, honestly and sincerely, that you can’t just expect her to immediately acclimate to your version of a normal world when you didn’t provide her with the same transparency as she gave you. No one blames you for keeping Supergirl a secret, we all know why you did, but she really fucking cares about you. She’s probably just worried or something.”

That caused the blonde to cast her gaze downwards. There was no lie in that, Maggie had no way of knowing it, but those were Lena's exact words. Her voice came out croaky, which was a new sound for Maggie to hear. “I don’t think she wants to speak to me. She’s made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want to associate with me anymore.”

“If you can fly through the sky and catch a bullet between two fingers, you can figure out how to get a girl’s forgiveness,” Maggie got out without sympathy. “She’s been betrayed and left behind by everyone else in her life. Don’t be like those people.”

Kara fell silent at those words, because they held so much truth. Kara had felt alone her whole life because she was isolated from her planet. Lena felt alone because she was isolated from hers. Except Lena never got the liberating chance to start over and save the world. Kara wasn’t sure if starting a brand new life or changing your current one would be harder, but she was leaning towards changing your current one.

Maggie stood up, starting to walk towards the door while yelling out words behind her shoulder as she moved. “Take it from me, Mini Danvers, I know what a girl looks like when she's in love with someone, okay? She can love you back. And I think she does.”

“Those words sound rehearsed,” Kara called back.

That made her sister’s fiancee turn around with another smirk. “You think I have these heart-to-hearts often? Feel special.”

She had a feeling that Maggie optimized her soft side more often than she let on, but decided not to call her on that. She had to admit, out of all the people to try and break through to her, Maggie was shockingly the most successful thus far.

“If you tell Alex we had this conversation, I’ll deny it,” Maggie warned before she shut the door behind her. “I told her I don’t do well with families of girls I date and her finding out I’ve come over here will severely ruin my rep.”

That made Kara’s heart warm. Not only did it mean she loved Alex enough to meddle, but it also meant she might actually like Kara too. 

“I’ll see ya, Supergirl. Try to go easy on ruining crime scenes tonight?”

The joke was successful in lightening the mood. “No promises. Call Alex, she likes hearing from you.”

Maggie looked rather amused at that. “As if you need to tell me.”

As the silence settled into the apartment, Kara remained on her spot on the couch. She pulled out her laptop. She had done a lot of research on the LGBT community when Alex came out to her, but maybe it was time to focus a little less on the L and more on the other letters. 

_Signs you might be bisexual._

Thousands of results came up on the google search and Kara read through them before moving on to other sexual orientations. She really didn't want to admit it, but maybe Maggie wasn’t completely wrong after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the kudos and for reading!! 
> 
> if anyone needs a new blog to follow my tumblr is shes-cured.tumblr.com (just throwing that out there, ya knowww)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let the gays be happy

When the door to Lena’s office opened she didn’t even bother looking up. Her office had been flooded with visitors the entire morning, but she ordered Jess for no one to be let up as of a half hour ago. It seemed like at this point on the chain of hierarch, her orders should be listened to.

“I told you, I didn’t want any more visitors today. I’m tired of-“

“I used my key to the elevator,” Kara spoke up as the door swung shut. 

Lena’s head shot up with surprise as they stared at each other, piercing green and ocean blue intertwining. Kara didn’t move from her place of standing two feet away from the doorway, but Lena was just as frozen in her chair.

“Hi,” she finally got out breathlessly, Maggie’s visit from the prior week immediately flashing through her head. 

Kara smiled, for the first time looking not awkward, but fully shy. “Hey. Can we talk sometime?”

“Yeah, have a seat,” she regained her composure, motioning to the couch along the wall. She wordlessly got up as well, going to sit beside her so a desk wasn’t separating them. 

“You said you didn’t want visitors. Are you sure you’re not busy?”

Lena gave a soft smile, nodding her head in reassurance. “I’m never too busy for you. You’re never just a visitor, don’t worry.”

“Even though you’re mad at me?” 

She frowned a little at that, but eventually just nodded again. “I believe the word I used was infuriated.” Kara stayed silent until Lena re-answered the question. “Just because I’m mad at you doesn’t mean you don’t have a special place in my life.”

Kara brightened at that comment before turning solemn again. She bit her lip a little, staring at Lena with pain. “I know you don’t want me to be Supergirl.”

There was nothing to say to that, so green eyes just looked down. Nothing had changed about that. She couldn’t be Kara’s friend if she was going to be Supergirl. She loved Kara. She loved Supergirl. What she didn’t love was that Kara was Supergirl.

“I’ve never given up on you,” Kara pointed out. “No matter what, I told you I wouldn’t and I haven’t.”

Lena looked hurt at the fact that Kara was even trying to accuse her of that. “I’m not giving up on you.”

Kara shook her head. She stared at the thin fingers for a few moments, then hesitantly grabbed Lena’s hand in her own. Maybe it was because Maggie had come to talk to her last week and Lena was reading too far into ever gesture, but when their hands touched her heart skipped somersaulting and did full back hand springs instead.

The past well she had just been going back and forth with whether or not what Maggie insinuated might be true, even a little bit. Lena knew by now that she was a good person with a shitty family, but she still couldn’t fathom that maybe someone else in the world could love her. Loving herself wasn’t the problem, she had conquered that long ago. It was believing that she was lovable to anyone else in the world.

“I know you aren’t giving up, I know,” Kara quickly assured her, gently squeezing her hand. “My point is, just like I haven’t given up on you, I shouldn’t give up on National City either. I have powers that can stop bad things from happening. I need to use them, Lena.”

“I know you do, it’s just…” Blue eyes watched her every move as Lena casted her gaze to the floor, trying to find something to focus on other than the girl in front of her. 

Her only friend pulled Lena into her arms for a deep huh, just holding her there like they’d done numerous times before. This time it felt so much more comforting, though. Lena cursed Maggie Sawyer with everything in her, because now that the idea of her being gay was planted she couldn’t forget about it. She didn’t want to be, but Kara made her feel a way that Jack never could - and there had been real sparks with Jack, she was sure of it at the tim.

But Kara Danvers made her feel like she was in this ferocious, explosive fire. Her body heated up when Kara and her were merely sharing the same room, so when they were like this, in each other’s arms, on the same couch, their bodies intertwined, she almost couldn’t breathe. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt before. She felt at peace, yet wildly nervous, all at the same time - which said a lot, because Lena Luthor got nervous over no one. She had _never_ gotten nervous due to a boy and certainly not due to a girl. 

“i understand that you’re worried,” Kara finally spoke up when Lena hadn’t continued after a minute, “but I’m fine.”

“What about when you’re not?” she challenged, finally looking back at Kara directly. “What about when something happens and you’re not fine and I have to go back to being alone again? What then?”

“I have a team,” Kara announced. 

Lena squinted her eyes a little, unsure of what that was supposed to mean to her. “Okay?”

“I work with the DEO.”

She shook her head a little, not sure why she was surprised at that. She had heard her mom spewing hate about the DEO for quite a while. At first she didn’t believe any of it, but she changed a lot of her beliefs in the past few weeks. Getting kidnapped by her mother, then again by a crazy alien queen, then saved by Supergirl, then forced to put finishing touches on a device that basically killed Kara’s boyfriend had changed a few of her life views recently.

“I’m never out there alone,” she continued to try to persuade Lena that this wasn’t a god awful idea. And, much to Lena’s dismay, that did make her feel a little better about the whole thing. “They’re always watching, I have an ear piece, it’s actually quite high tech. I’d invite you to work with us if you weren’t so against the government.”

"I'm not _against_ the government, let's not get dramatic," Lena smiled, rolling her eyes. “Working for the government still isn’t my thing, but thanks for the job offer.”

“When I came to Earth,” Kara breathed heavily, then cut herself off, shaking her head. “I feel stupid talking about this with you.”

She wrapped her arm further around the girl, shaking her head and feeling so at home. Somehow, sitting and having heart-to-hearts with the media had become one of her favorite job duties - but only with the representative from Catco.

“Don’t feel stupid. I want to hear about it.”

“It’s not weird for you?” Kara double-checked. “I mean, I know we haven’t exactly addressed the whole alien thing together yet.”

“You’re my best friend,” Lena shrugged. “Supergirl, alien, human, nosy journalist… you’re still Kara, right? I want to hear about all of you. Not just the human you.”

“Wow,” she breathed airily.

That made Lena squirm a little, unsure if that was a little too nice of a thing for her to say. Straight girls spoke like that, right? Did that sound gay? Was she scaring Kara away because of it? She didn’t want to sound like she was in love. Kara had just lost a love in her life that she’d continuously told Lena she thought she’d never find.

“Sorry, was that too-“

“No, it was fine, it’s just… no one’s ever said that to me unless they were an alien too,” she spoke with awe. “I mean, nowadays Alex likes to hear about my life on Krypton, but trust me, for years she begged me not to talk about it because it wasn’t normal and we wouldn't fit in if I did.”

It was weird hearing about a time when Alex wasn’t in Kara’s corner. She was so overly-protective and accepting now that it was hard to imagine an insecure teenager being under all of that at one time. She was a badass who actually did scare Lena a little. Kara thought of her so highly that Lena wasn’t sure what she’d do if Alex ever decided that she didn’t like her. She was the one person who’s opinion Kara valued the most. 

“Well, when I first came to... _Earth_ ,” Kara began again slowly, obviously gauging Lena’s reaction. “It was hard. I had these powers, but couldn’t use them and I had suddenly lost everything I knew. The Danvers are great, they were always so great, but… they weren’t my parents. And for years I felt like I was just kind of wandering. Eventually they became family, obviously Alex and I are close, but until I saved that plane I had no direction of where I was heading.”

“That was pretty incredible,” Lena offered, still uncomfortable with the idea of the one person she didn’t want to lose putting herself in the midst of chaos. 

“You’re Lena,” Kara told her simply. 

 _Lena_. Not a Luthor, not even Lena Luthor, she was _Lena_. And she liked being just Lena to someone. 

“I’m not you,” the hero continued. “You’re this amazing, pretty, feminist tech whiz. You literally can conquer, save and destroy the world on your own, it’s all up to you, no powers needed. I’ve always been an average person.”

Lena immediately shook her head at that, almost in shock that Kara would pick that word to describe herself. “You are hardly average.”

It was like she hadn't heard a word, but Lena now knew that she had incredibly astounding hearing and that was impossible to be true.

“You’re happy with yourself. You make yourself whole," Kara attempted to explain it to her. "Supergirl is the part of me that makes me feel competent in the world. And I don’t want to lose that.”

Once again, silence filled the room.

“But,” Kara spoke up again, “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Emerald eyes snapped to the girl in front of her, confused at what she was getting at. She’d made it abundantly clear how important being Supergirl was. Lena couldn’t even argue it, because she understood it. She understood all of it so well. It had taken her so long to find her niche. Just because Lena didn’t like it or approve didn’t mean Kara’s niche wasn’t being a hero. 

“Supergirl makes me feel competent, that’s great,” the blonde brushed off the words that came out powerful a few seconds ago and made them sound nonchalant. “You make me feel normal, yet so incredibly unique and special, all at the same time - and not for being an alien or hero, just for being Kara. And that’s something I’ve never really had in my life before now.”

Was it the right time? No.

Was it the best time? Absolutely not.

But hearing Kara say that, hearing her say the exact same way that Kara made Lena herself feel filled her with so much pride and accomplishment that she felt she could do anything in the world. She had to embrace that before it was gone again, so she leaned in before she could overthink it, pressing their lips together.

She pulled away after a few seconds, opening her eyes to a very stunned Kara. She sat there, her eyes in a daze.

Lena straighten up, fixing her posture. “Moving on. I’m glad I-“

“Wait a second, I’m not ready to move on from that yet,” Kara announced, taking her own turn to initiate a kiss, pressing firmer and with more certainty than Lena had a few seconds ago. 

Alright. That confirmed it fully for Lena. Feeling the soft lips and tingles within her, she was definitely, without a doubt gay. Or, at least she liked Kara a hell of a lot more than she’d liked any guy that came before her.

“I was going to say,” Kara murmured when they had pulled away, their foreheads naturally pressed against one another, “that I’d rather give up feeling competent than give up feeling normal.”

“What?” Lena scrunched her eyebrows together, trying to decipher that. “Do you mean?”

Kara shrugged as if it were no big deal. “I can find a new purpose in life. There are different career paths, different hobbies - so many things out there can give you a purpose. Achieving a sense of belonging somewhere is a lot harder to do. I feel like I belong here. With you. Especially now.”

Lena shook her head. She didn’t think it’d come down to that. She didn’t know what she was expecting the outcome of their week of silence to be, but it wasn’t Kara giving up her life as Supergirl. 

“Kara… National City needs a superhero.”

“Lena…” Kara mimicked her tone with a faint smile. “Kara needs you.”

Kara needed her. She _needed_ her. Someone needed her for once, which was fantastic enough, but not just anyone needed her, _Kara_ needed her, which was even better. 

She watched her pull out her ear piece, placing it on the table beside them. “I’d give up anything if it meant keeping someone like you in my life.”

“But…” For the first time, she didn’t have words. She couldn’t seem to find any. “I want you to feel competent.”

“I can feel competent in a way without making you feel uncomfortable,” Kara assured her. “As I said, I can go to med school or become a lawyer and fight for rights, or, you know, anything.”

“You truly feel like this is the right thing for you?” she tested. “You’d give all this up for _me_?”

“I’ve told you so many times, Lena,” she spoke with a passion that made her wonder how she had missed it before. “You’re my best friend. Hell, I’d go to bat for you any time, any day, any where, even if I didn’t have powers to make me freaky strong.”

She looked down, not believing that she was about to give up a fight she’d felt so strongly about a half hour ago. “You need to be Supergirl, too.”

“I don’t-“

“I couldn’t live with myself if I knew I’d forced you to give that up just to be with me – sorry, I mean, if you even _want_ to be with me, I didn't mean to make assumptions.”

Kara smiled at that, biting her lip again and just nodding with squinted eyes. “Oh, I want to be with you.”

“Do both,” she gave up the fight happily. She would've given it up even if Kara didn't want to be with her, but it was good to know she did. “You were put on Earth for a reason, right?”

She watched her purse her lips, pressing them together firmly before speaking with concern. “Are you sure? I don't want to make you uneasy.”

“I'd be a hell of a lot more uneasy if I knew you I was holding you back from doing something you really want to do.”

That must have triggered something in Kara, because she leaned forward so quick that Lena jumped at the sudden movement. She smiled when she felt soft and gentle lips on her own again, wrapping her arms around Kara’s neck to pull her closer. 

She felt hands on her waist, fingers curling to creep around her back. It wasn't anything over the top, but it was everything Lena needed her life. 

 _Definitely gay_.

“I didn't think you were into girls,” Lena breathed out quickly as they took a break for air. 

Kara smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you really questioning this right now?”

“Good point,” she laughed, closing the space between them again. 

She felt hands on her shoulders moments later and was pushed away. She glanced at Kara, but only momentarily because they were connected again as soon as her words were spoken. “I think I'm into a girl right now.”

Her heart felt light as Kara’s chest pressed against her own. She pushed forward a bit, taking the chance to further things. Kara obliged, laying flat on the couch and letting Lena lay on top of her. 

“You don't need to prop yourself up, you know? If I can handle carrying a car through the air I can handle you laying on top of me while we make out.”

She felt her cheeks reddening. She didn't take being told she could be doing something a better way too easily, probably because she didn't hear it often. 

“Lena, it's fine either way,” Kara promised softly.

The girl with dark hair started to lean down but the blaring ringtone of Kara’s cell phone stopped them both from continuing the make out session. 

Kara groaned when Lena got off her, both of them leaning over to read who the hell was ruining Lena's suddenly perfect day. She saw Alex's name and watched Kara sigh in response. “Probably DEO business. Should I put it off?”

Lena wanted so badly to be selfish and tell her _no, stay here, stay with me all day, all night_ , but when she thought of the bigger picture she frowned. She couldn't exactly take away Supergirl from National City every time she wanted to spend time with Kara. It was going to have to be time for her to be selfless too if they were going to do this. 

“Go,” she finally sighed. “Save the world.”

Those words made Kara's face turn from a slightly cloudy day into a bright sunny one with no humidity. “And you're okay? With me being Supergirl?”

She smirked at the thought, nodding her head with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Yeah. It'll be pretty cool to know I'm secretly dating a superhero.”

“I'll be coming to your house tonight, you know?” Kara smiled, getting up off the couch after one last kiss.

If that was a threat it certainly wasn't scary. 

“I'll be looking forward to it.”

Maybe ’gay’ really did mean happy after all, because after this? Lena was so fucking happy. 

* * *

 

“It’s about damn time!” Alex hissed when Kara finally rushed through the doors to the DEO headquarters. “Did you not understand the word ‘urgent’?”

“I was busy,” Kara dismissed. “I’m here now, okay?”

That made the older Danvers pause as she tilted her head, her eyes turning into slits. “It’s your day off of both Catco and the DEO. What were you busy with?”

“Talk later,” Kara smiled cheekily, not sure if she wanted to go into detail with her sister about Lena yet. 

She still wasn’t sure how Alex would react to finding out exactly how strong Kara felt about girl. It had taken a lot for Alex to come out. It wasn't that Kara was scared Alex wouldn't accept her, but she didn't want her to feel slighted or think Kara was copying her. 

“Mini Danvers, you look like you just had sex,” Maggie announced.

Kara turned to Alex with an expression that she hoped didn't look as mortified as she felt. “Don't you think that's a little inappropriate, Alex?”

Once again, Alex avoided the tightrope, just holding up her hands in the air. “Please, just don't answer for both our sakes. I don't want to know either way.”

She rolled her eyes, walking away with her red cape trailing behind her. Lena had been amazed at how quick she could change, to which Kara only made a semi-inappropriate comment of it coming in handy for more than just Supergirl purposes. 

“She had sex–”

“Maggie!” she heard Alex curse under her breath with disgust. 

Kara kept of the facade of her not being able to hear, genuinely wondering if Maggie would tell her sister. 

“What? You're not curious about who it was with?”

There was a silence and she could imagine Alex thinking it over hard. Finally, her sister spoke up. “Wait, but who could…”

“You wanna know,” her fiancee said smugly. “I can't tell you. But let's just say I'm great at relationship remediation.”

Kara scoffed. Maggie would take all the credit after having one conversation. 

“You talked to Lena?” Alex asked unimpressed. “I told you that it wouldn't work. She's too hardheaded. They both are.”

Did they gossip about her? Kara found herself in shock, not quite sure how she felt about that. Then, a better question hit her. Did her sister already think she liked Lena in that way?

“That's why I talked to them both,” Maggie proudly proclaimed as Kara's jaw dropped. “Just don't tell–”

“What did you talk to Lena about?”

Maggie jumped out of her skin when Kara was next to her in the blink of an eye again. 

Alex smirked at the rookie move. “She has supersonic hearing, Babe.”

“Damn it, just when I thought I was getting it down,” she cursed.

Then, Kara whipped around to face her sister. “And you knew Maggie was going to meddle and didn't warn me?”

“I - I don’t think I saw you that day,” Alex stuttered out an excuse. 

Her fiancee imitated Alex’s smirk perfectly. “You forgot about the hearing too, huh?”

“She never uses it on me,” Alex grumbled. “We had many long conversations and _promises_ that she wouldn't use it with me.”

She was bored with Alex, turning to Maggie again. “What did you tell Lena?”

“At this point, does it really matter?”

It really didn't, but Kara was dying to know. “Yes.”

“It was a very similar conversation as yours,” she shrugged. “As in, some of it even involved entire sentences that were the same. You should compare notes, because it's almost humorous, if you ask me.”

Alex tried not to let Kara see her laugh at her fiancées antics, but bringing a hand up to her mouth to try and disguise the giggling didn't exactly cover it up. 

“You know what? I don't care.” She flung her arms around her sister’s fiancée and based on Alex’s laugh Kara wished she could see the expression on Maggie's face. She smiled, humming out happily, “Thank you.”

“Wait, _what_?” Alex nearly screeched. “You never thank _me_ when I meddle in your personal life.”

“You're too overbearing in every aspect of my life, so when you start in on my personal life it's quite threatening to the little privacy I have,” Kara stated emotionlessly. Then, she laughed to herself. “Besides, you always make things worse when you try to fix them. Maggie actually made things better than before.”

“I do not–”

“Accept the L,” Maggie directed her. “There's no winning this for you. Even you know the overbearing part is true.”

Alex rolled her eyes, just standing up straighter and briskly walking away, yelling words as she walked. “As I was saying, next time when you hear the word ’urgent’ let's get here as if it were urgent.”

Kara opened her mouth to speak, but Alex was already by Winn instructing him to type something into the computer. 

In Mon-El, she thought she had found everything. With Lena it was like she had found an ’everything’ that she didn't even known existed. She was everything Mon-El was, but she had always been the best person in the room. She had just as evil as a family as Mon-El – maybe even more so – but she was never like them in that way. 

No matter where life threw Lena Luthor, Kara was positive that not a day had gone by where she had stopped trying to do the right thing despite the consequences. Kara had saved her once or twice, but how many times had Lena been the hero?

The thing about her was that Lena didn't need anyone else to save her – she never had. But Kara wanted to show her that it wasn't so bad to want help sometimes. It was okay to not go through the world alone. She'd be just as strong whether she had someone by her side or not. 

Lena was the most independent person she knew, so the fact that she even expressed wanting a relationship with her in the first place was absolutely shocking. It took a lot to make Kara feel special – she had x-ray vision, of course she was special – but Lena wanting her, of all people, left Kara feeling elated. It left her thinking that maybe awkward little Kara was desirable after all. 

She wasn't so sure if she believed in happy endings yet, but every single thing felt right when Lena was around. That's all Kara really knew. It felt so right, so natural. She always felt weird and incapable of loving someone, she had a long period where she was convinced that she was destined to be alone, but maybe all of that was to prove to her how special Lena must truly be. 

“Are you two a thing?” Maggie whispered in her ear as Alex continued the briefing over the latest alien terrorist. 

Kara looked at her out of the corner of her eye, then simply smiled. How could she not? She felt happy. 

“Of course. We all know I'd be an idiot to turn Lena down.”

“My queer little Danvers sisters,” Maggie let out a satisfied sigh, batting her eyelashes. “I've made you both realize you're both not straight. Do you know what an accomplishment that is?”

“Sawyer, Supergirl!” Alex snapped. She looked serious, but Kara saw the amusement in her eyes at the two of them not competing for once. “Pay attention. This is serious business.”

“Sorry,” Kara said, her big smile never leaving her face. Was it permanent? “Continue. We’re both listening.”

“I'm not afraid to report you if I don't think you're taking your job seriously, Supergirl.” Alex smirked a little. “And I don't mean to Agent Henshaw.”

Maggie practically choked on her own saliva at the comment. 

Kara stood up straighter, the big smile lessening a little. She wondered if they knew how close it came to her giving up her heroine alter ego. Because she would've. It wasn't a test of any sort. If Lena had truly worried enough to need her to quit, she would've in a heartbeat. 

“You're whipped already,” Maggie scoffed. 

After Alex’s gaze snapped in their direction at the comment, Kara chose to remain silent. Nowadays, she had too much to lose by not following the rules. And none of them related to being Supergirl. They all involved a girl that she couldn't fathom losing. Not after they'd gotten this far. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who read this!


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